Your favourite riders!

[Ruudz0r]

Re: Re:

Valverde
Quintana
Nibali
Dumoulin
Wellens
Sagan
Chavez

You really ought to be more specific.
Though, for Quintana, Nibali, and Sagan I assume you mean the "main brother"...



(Also, don't let Ruudz0r see this post.)

:lol: Its weird though right? Especially in this topic people who are fan of him and still spell his name wrong.

 

[KyoGrey]

Re: Re:

Yeah, the glory days when Valverde rode for Kelme and Illes Balears, was young and had hair!

Edit: Also called the very charming Valverde-era.

Ahh he was a delightful sight

Young Valverde certainly had something.

One thing that will rub me off the rest of my life is super-young Valverde not winning the 2003 worlds:

Just imagine him racing the rest of his career with the rainbow armcuffs...him in a Caisse d'Epargne Spanish champion outfit with the rainbow details would've been nearly orgasmic.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

Probably not, but the one who has been the closest to win one multiple times and definitely deserves one.

Too bad he can't win this year. Well, he can, but the changes of that happening are pretty small, altho I must admit I haven't studied the route. There's always 2018...

 

[Valv.Piti]

By the way, great Valv pictures there. My favourite man crush moments were, I think, the time trial on Sierra Nevada in 2004 in the white jersey. That looked great. I also liked the Kelme jersey the best, altho Caisse d' Epargne also had a glorious jersey. Illes Balears kinda meh IMO.

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

Contador
Nibali
Valverde

In that order.

I need to find some new blood. Sooner or later some youngster will come along and steal my heart and make the follow until he retires list like the 3 above. All selected young, all getting up there .

No greater thing there ever was

Than the might of Enric Mas.

22 good age . I'll see if I can find some vids. QS might not be a good type of team for me to find a lifetime fav on though. Stage racers have always had more appeal. Aside from De Vlaeminck, Museeuw and Cancellara my favs have all been stage racers. Of course in the olden days guys could excel in both.

 

[the asian]

Re: Re:

Contador
Nibali
Valverde

In that order.

I need to find some new blood. Sooner or later some youngster will come along and steal my heart and make the follow until he retires list like the 3 above. All selected young, all getting up there .

No greater thing there ever was

Than the might of Enric Mas.

22 good age . I'll see if I can find some vids. QS might not be a good type of team for me to find a lifetime fav on though. Stage racers have always had more appeal. Aside from De Vlaeminck, Museeuw and Cancellara my favs have all been stage racers. Of course in the olden days guys could excel in both.

Enric Mas is a stage racer though.

 

[Carols]

Re: Re:

Contador
Nibali
Valverde

In that order.

I need to find some new blood. Sooner or later some youngster will come along and steal my heart and make the follow until he retires list like the 3 above. All selected young, all getting up there .

No greater thing there ever was

Than the might of Enric Mas.

22 good age . I'll see if I can find some vids. QS might not be a good type of team for me to find a lifetime fav on though. Stage racers have always had more appeal. Aside from De Vlaeminck, Museeuw and Cancellara my favs have all been stage racers. Of course in the olden days guys could excel in both.

Enric Mas is a stage racer though.

This is good. I'll see if he makes me fall in love .

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re: Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

Probably not, but the one who has been the closest to win one multiple times and definitely deserves one.

Too bad he can't win this year. Well, he can, but the changes of that happening are pretty small, altho I must admit I haven't studied the route. There's always 2018...

Probably not? Can you think of anyone better than him that didn't win a WC? Perhaps Cancellara but I'm not sure I would agree he was a better rider than Valverde.

 

[KyoGrey]

Re: Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

Probably not, but the one who has been the closest to win one multiple times and definitely deserves one.

Too bad he can't win this year. Well, he can, but the changes of that happening are pretty small, altho I must admit I haven't studied the route. There's always 2018...

Probably not? Can you think of anyone better than him that didn't win a WC? Perhaps Cancellara but I'm not sure I would agree he was a better rider than Valverde.

Sean Kelly.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re: Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

Probably not, but the one who has been the closest to win one multiple times and definitely deserves one.

Too bad he can't win this year. Well, he can, but the changes of that happening are pretty small, altho I must admit I haven't studied the route. There's always 2018...

Probably not? Can you think of anyone better than him that didn't win a WC? Perhaps Cancellara but I'm not sure I would agree he was a better rider than Valverde.

Sean Kelly.

Kelly, Bartali, De Vlaeminck etc etc. Valverde isn't in the top 5.

 

[Guybrush]

look at the OP, riders from current peloton

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

look at the OP, riders from current peloton

That's a more reasonable question, but it necessarily gets very subjective ranking Valverde against Cancellara (if he counts), Contador, Froome etc. In a longer term context he might scrape the top 10 but is obviously not near the top four or five.

 

[movingtarget]

No love for Gerrans ? I'm shocked !

 

[Kokoso]

Re: Re:

Picking from the current CQ 100

My top 10 + Cancellara since he is still in the current top 100

Podium
1. Sagan
2. Cancellara
2. Boonen

In no order
Stybar
Chavez
Martin Daniel
Gaviria
Dennis Rohan
Martin Tony
Degenkolb
Vichot Arthur

I know a lot of people make this mistake so this is nothing to you personally, but it is Chaves with an s and I am annoyed with how many people make the mistake as Chaves is a star in this sport. Same goes with Vanmarcke (not Van Marcke or whatever) and Kreuziger (not Kreuzinger), maybe we should have a thread with cycling names written wrong .

At least with Kreuziger misspeling of his name is sometimes intetional, like kind of fun.

 

[el chava]

Riders who attack for real (as in no Voeckler types), unpredictable/erratic (Kwiatkowski, Wellens), elegant/stylish (Chavanel, Pozzatto, Nibali), flyweight climbers (Nieve, Pozzovivo), those who always gets 2nd or 3rd (Vanmarcke, Uran) or just Colombian riders in general. And no one-trick ponyes (sprinters, generic GC riders, Rodriguez types or timetriallers).

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re: Re:

look at the OP, riders from current peloton

That's a more reasonable question, but it necessarily gets very subjective ranking Valverde against Cancellara (if he counts), Contador, Froome etc. In a longer term context he might scrape the top 10 but is obviously not near the top four or five.

How is Valverde not even near the top 5, wtf . Even when comparing him to guys from previous eras you have to take into account that it was much easier back then to win a variety of races compared to now. Someone like Merckx would never have gotten even close to the palmares he has if he were to compete in this era.

Also, I'd say that Valverde is clearly above Froome in terms of talent. The only thing Froome is good at is riding GTs. Valverde can win almost everything

 

[Arredondo]

Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

De Vlaeminck, Ocana, Poulidor, Bartoli, Godefroot, Kelly, Cancellara, Bartali .....

So many great riders who never wore the rainbow jersey

 

[Valv.Piti]

IMO, when judging the talent of Valverde, you need to look at his uncanny ability to use the aerobic and anaerobic system. Best in the peloton. Boonen of old had it, Sagan and GVA has it now. On top of that, as DFA mentioned, he would be in the absolute top in intervals in w/kg varying from ridiculously varying lengths - 5 seconds to 1 hour. And lastly the ability to basically ride the whole season competitively in every race he enters.

Thats talent for you.

 

[Arredondo]

My favourite riders. Unfortunately no Purito anymore

Mourey (my passion for cyclocross started when he was able to take on Nys in the Worlds cup in the 2006/2007 season. Great rider who attacks and dares to take initiative)

Swift (I love his allround capacities and the fact he's always was the underdog in his team despite some great results and great teamwork. His win in Xemein in Pais Vasco '14 was one of the best wins ever for a sprinter. Surviving a extremely hard ridden race, after attacks of guys like Mollema, Weening, Bala and Contador on the last climb. If you're able to survive in a elite group of 20 GC guys, you're a true beast)

Torres (Love his attacking style and the way he climbs)

Atapuma (same)

Pippo (just pure class on a bike. I love him, despite his cowardly racing attitude the past years. I can't help it really )

Ion Izagirre (love the way he can do anything on a bike: really strong climbing and timetrailing abilities, good descender, good sprint and agressive attitude)

Landa (reminds me of the pure climbers of the past)

Rosa (pure beast)

Gaviria (next Miguel Poblet)

Ferrari (one of the best guys for managing a sprint)

 

[Netserk]

Contador showed today why he is so loved.

 

[armchairclimber]

Re:

This was more work than I thought, but I made an overview of the riders mentioned at least three times. So these are the most popular riders on this forum:

1. Sagan 26
2. Contador 25
3. Chaves 17
4. Valverde 15
5. Boonen 14
6. Wellens 13
7. Nibali 12
8. Alaphilippe 11
= Greipel
= Kwiatkowski
11. Dumoulin 10
= Gaviria
13. Martin, Tony 9
= Pinot
15. Bardet 8
= Quintana
= Vanmarcke
18. Cavendish 7
= Landa
= Sánchez, Samuel
21. Benoot 5
= Démare
= Froome
= Gilbert
= Porte
= Stuyven
27. Aru 4
= Boasson Hagen
= Degenkolb
= Izagirre
= Martin, Daniel
= Van Avermaet
= Voeckler
34. Felline 3
= Henao
= Urán
= Zubeldia

I have edited my post on page 1 to complete the top 10 line up. It may have a bearing on your chart.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re: Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

De Vlaeminck, Ocana, Poulidor, Bartoli, Godefroot, Kelly, Cancellara, Bartali .....

So many great riders who never wore the rainbow jersey

None of those guys would have the palmares they have now in the current era though. Cancellara I can somewhat understand but Valverde was much more versatile.

 

[StryderHells]

Re: Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

De Vlaeminck, Ocana, Poulidor, Bartoli, Godefroot, Kelly, Cancellara, Bartali .....

So many great riders who never wore the rainbow jersey

None of those guys would have the palmares they have now in the current era though. Cancellara I can somewhat understand but Valverde was much more versatile.

Why not? Genuinely curious on this

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re: Re:

Probably the best rider never to win the WC?

De Vlaeminck, Ocana, Poulidor, Bartoli, Godefroot, Kelly, Cancellara, Bartali .....

So many great riders who never wore the rainbow jersey

None of those guys would have the palmares they have now in the current era though. Cancellara I can somewhat understand but Valverde was much more versatile.

Why not? Genuinely curious on this

Because this is a time where pretty much everyone is specialized in certain aspects (climbs, cobbles, sprints) and you barely see riders that are good at everything anymore. I don't believe that a guy like Merckx would even come close to the palmares he managed to get back in the day. It's just not possible anymore